The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics will be held from June 29th to July 3rd, 2009 at Il Ciocco in Lucca, Italy. Prof. Amy E. Herr of the University of California, Berkeley and Prof. Juan G. Santiago of Stanford University will act as co-Chairs for the conference with vice-Chairs Prof. James P. Landers (University of Virginia) and Prof. Brian J. Kirby (Cornell University). The conference will include sessions on Frontiers in Nanobiotechnology, Microfluidic Tools for Studying Single Molecules, Point-of-care Diagnostics, Transport in Micro/Nanoscale Systems, Energy, Systems Biology Enabled by Microfluidics, and Disease Biomarker Discovery. We hope to give financial support toward conference registration and/or travel costs for a subset of attendees, giving special consideration to junior investigators (i.e., students, postdoctoral researchers). This Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics GRC is significant, as the discussion-oriented forum provides a unique opportunity for scientists and engineers to focus on the role of technology in advancing biomedical science. The health-relatedness of this application lies in the fact that microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies are providing new tools to study biomolecular interactions that underlie health and disease processes. A detailed, even quantitative knowledge is critical for understanding the molecular basis of disease and developing new therapies. While a handful of sessions do not specifically address NIBIB and NIGMS programs (i.e., Energy), microfluidics and microengineering are powerful technologies that can be used to facilitate and dramatically improve basic and applied biomedical research;topical areas that comprise the major focus of the conference. Microfluidics and nanotechnology is highly multidisciplinary fields. Based on our previous successful GRC's (biennially since 2001), participants will have diverse backgrounds (bioengineering, chemistry, biology, physics, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medicine, and materials science). Participants will represent academia, government, and industry with the majority of participants from the academic sector. A main goal of this conference is to encourage interaction among participants from dissimilar backgrounds in order to facilitate the maturation of microfluidic technologies to help elucidate complex biological problems. The health-relatedness of this application lies in the fact that microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies are providing new tools to study biomolecular interactions that underlie health and disease processes. A detailed in the proposal, quantitative knowledge is critical for understanding the molecular basis of disease and developing new therapies. Microfluidics and microengineering are powerful technologies that can be used to facilitate and dramatically improve basic and applied biomedical research;topical areas that comprise the major focus of the conference.